Beam clamp



Aug. 11, 1936.

J. PINAUD ET AL BEAM CLAMP I Filed Jan. 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v lzm mm s. w w/wm W. \y 0 m m m w A J M m, u m 0 n 3m a a ,0 0 z Aug. 11, 1936.

J. PINAUD ETAL BEAM CLAMP Fi d Jan. 29, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'II/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I V Tolm 733ml! and 2-:

Qua? 1M 6 W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNHTED :sra

F? BEAM CLAMP Applicationr'Januaryc29, 1934;:Serial No. 708,755

. Claims. """(Cl."25-'131'.5)

This invention relates to a novel "hanger construction for supporting molds into-which'concrete is poured. v V

In the construction of concrete buildings, especially the floor and ceilings,in which'steel I- 5 beams are embedded in the concrete or-the like,

it is the practice to hang a mold from certain of the steel beams by means 'of-devices;the upper ends of which are adapted to be attached to the beams.

After the: concrete is poured and allowed to set and harden, the molds are removed. The present invention has to do with the provision of'improved devices, particularly adapted for this pur pose, i. e., to hang the molds and to allow them to be readily removed after the concrete is poured. Ihe improved devices may, howeven-be useful for other purposes.

Inasmuch as each such device (except its lower end) is embedded in concrete so that at least a portion of it has to remain in the ceiling or other concrete structure when the mold is-removed, it is important that the'device be simple and inexpensive to manufacture. At the same time, however, the devices should be capable of supporting a-relatively heavy load, in order to avoidthe use of excessive numbers of the devices.

*Moreover, it is desirable that the portion of the device which engages the mold be severable from the portionwhich is attached'to 'th'beam, in order not to leave an end of the device protruding below th-e concrete. In addition,the'-'devices should be capable of being readily assembled'and secured'to the -mold and beam, preferably-to a bottomflange of the latter.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a device of this character'which-satisfies these requirements in' a superior- -manner and at the same time achieves a number of other advantages among which areelimination of any tendency of the load to tip the clamp from its assembled position; reduction of swaying!- of the mold while concrete is poured ;=;'ease. .of: i disassembly when-.theimoldiis .to be stripped o1f;.11niform :high'v quality. and. strength 1 of the device, especially the portion which engageszthebeam; avoidance of need for spacersbetween-.thebeams and the..mo1d; andmaintenance of amniform distance between the bottom orsofiitsofthe-mold. and the beams.

, Other features and advantages of theinvention will' become apparent as. the following. detailed description of certain illustrative .forms of, the improvement proceeds, reference being bad to'the accompanying drawingswherein:

' Fig; I is a perspective View;partlyi rvertiqai section,.of a moldsupported by a device in accordance with the. invention,..concrete .havingbeen poured .intothe mold;

Fig. 2 is aperspective view,.on enlarged scale, illustrating the. details of one. form of such device;

. Fig. 2a is a horizontalsection taken alongthe bottom web of the clampmember shownin Fig. 2, partlybroken away;

Fig. 31s a vertical section, partly. broken away, through a construction similar to that shown in Fig. 2 but somewhat modified;

Figs. 3a.. and 3b arevertical. sections through modified forms .of theconstruction illustrated in Fig.3; Fig. 4 is a detail planview illustrating a further modification of the construction shown in Fig". 2;

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, illustrating a mode-of operationcf the constructions shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4;

P Figs. 6, 7 and Bare-perspective views ct other forms of device constructed. according to the invention;

Fig. 9'-isay-verticalsection through still another-modification;

Y Fig. 10 is a-plan view.ottheconstruction shown in Fig.9. Fig. 11-is a perspective-view.of. another..mod1- fication; alsoin accordance with the invention.

-=Referring..fi-rst to Figs. 1 and.2,.there is shown aceiling construction includinga series of steel I-beams ,I5 fromwhich a mold l6 includinga sofiit 1 6 is supported; while concrete. is poured into it and. allowed to-set. The supporting ,..de-

viceincludes aclamp'l'l and adepending. hanger I8. The clamp; intheformshown in Figs, 1 and 2, .-may-- advantageously be formed ofta single sheet of-steet or other suitable vmaterialand include. a painof spaced. uprightportions i 9 .joined by. a web .20. Each-10f. the portions l9 -mayrbe provided with vertical.andl-horizontal reenforcing flanges 2-l and .22, respectively, and has. a .slot 23, into which the edge of a generallyihorizontal flange 24- of I-beam 15 extends. asufiicientdistance toenable. the member llto have a' secure grip; The walls 25 at the bottom of the slotsare adaptedmto lie fiat against the. bottoms of. -the I-beams, and will .thus be generally horizontal. However, as. best shown in'Fig. 5, theforward portions125' of walls 25 may be inclineddownwardly as indicated 'at25gand. the upper walls 26 preferably taper upwardlyfand" forwardly in order tofacilitate assembly'of the member-with the. beam. Extending generally at-Tight angles to'the slots" 2 3*and preferably" lying substantially forward of the rear walls of slots 23 are grooves 21 adapted to receive a wedge member 28, the upper face of which bears against the upper edges of grooves 21 and the lower face of which bears against the flange 24 in order to maintain the member I! in assembled position on the beam.

The web 20 is preferably provided with an elongated aperture 26' through which the upper end of member l8 extends, the aperture being arranged to permit swinging of member I! during assembly, as shown in Fig. 5. A nut 29 may be threaded onto the member and rest on the web 20 between it and the flange 24, and preferably substantially directly below the wedge 28; thus avoiding movements tending to tip thedevice. The lower end of member I8 may advantageously be provided with an enlarged portion 30, for instance an eye, which serves the double purpose of supporting a cleat 3| beneath the mold and of forming an engagement for a lever when the member is to be removed after the concrete, or the like, has set. Where desired, washers 32 may be interposed between the enlarged portion 30 and the cleat 3| to provide a flat surface upon which the cleat may rest. A plurality of clamp and hanger devices may be employed at suitably spaced intervals along the lengths of the beams, on one or both sides of the same.

It will be understood from the foregoing that in order to assemble the construction it is merely necessary to pass the members or'loolts I 8 through the washers 32, cleats 3|, the sofflts l6 and webs 26, and then thread the nuts 29 onto the bolts to the proper extent. whereupon the device may be assembled with the beam by swinging the members I! outwardly as shown in Fig. 5, raising the mold to proper position, and then swinging the members I! over the edge of flange 24 and driving the wedges 28 home. By cutting away the 1 members I! as at 25', the assembly is permitted with thick beam flanges without undue clearance between the edges 26 and the beam flange.

The concrete or the like is then poured into the mold and allowed to set, after which the members i8 maybe turned to unscrew them from the nuts 29, now firmly embedded in the concrete,

and then pulled out, forinstance by extending a pin through the eye andusing it as a lever.

v Turning to Fig. 3, there is shown a form of device in many respects similar to the device described. Instead of the eye 30, however, the lower end of member 18 is formed with a bolt head 33 and, the upper end of the member is tapered or narrows at 34 from the plane where it enters the concrete to the plane where the threads coin mence, so that the member may bereadily withdrawn after the concrete has hardened, without the need for applying so great a force as would otherwise be necessary to accomplish this result.

In Fig. 3a, a particularly firm grip on the beam flange 24 is attained by providing a washer 29" between the nut 29 and the bottomfof member l'l, so that the flat upper surface of'the nut 29 engages the bottom of the beam flange below the wedge 28, the hanger member l8 preferably not protruding above the nut 29. In this way unde sirable tipping of the member IT, as would permit it to fall from the beam, is avoided. r

In Fig. 3b a similar result is accomplished byscrewing up the bolt l8 until its end engages the under side of the flange 24, a clearance being provided between the member l1 and the under side of the flange. e v

The construction illustrated somewhat' dia- .turning or tipping. 1

The construction described thus provides an extremely simple and effective construction among the advantages, of which is that a direct downward pull is produced, acting through the engagement between the clamping device and thebeam, the hanger member engaging the clamp substantially directly below the wedge and beneath the beam. Moreover, the clamping memher I] may be formed from a single sheet of 'met'al, for instance annealed sheet steel, by 2 known simple operations, and thus provides a uniformly strong unit which is superior to a casting. Each clamp may be capable of supporting a safe working load of a ton or more. Each size of device is capable of use with a number 2 of difierent standard sizes of I-beams, through the use of different wedges, so that the device need not be stocked in many different sizes. The threads on the hanger member may be of such extentthat the lower end of the hanger depends 3 on a uniform distance in each unit, and as the clamping action takes place at the top of the flange while the lower edges of the slots in the clamping members bear against the beam, the spacing of the mold from the beams is accurately 3 determined without the need for separate spacers. Owing to the rigid nature of the construction, sagging is avoided. Moreover, the hangers can be readily removed by unscrewing to loosen them and thendrawing down. Once removed, they maybe used again and leave only a neat round hole in the concrete which can be readily filled.

Referring toFig. 6, there is illustrated a clamp 40, also formed of asingle piece of sheet material, .and including spaced, vertical portions 4l joined at their rear edges by a web 42. The portions 41 have slots 23 similar to those described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2, and also grooves 25 for receiving wedge 28. By locating the web 42 at the rear of the clamp 40, the bottom of the clampis left open, thus permitting a hanger 43 to be pivoted by means of a soft pin 44 between the portions 4|, with its top below the slots 23, r so that the lower walls of the slots may engage the under sideof the beam flange 24. For assembling the lower end of hanger 43 with a mold, thehanger may have a slot. 45 adapted to cooperate with a key 46, notched on its under side and capable of supporting a washer 47, when assembled.

The operation and advantages of this form will be apparent from the foregoing, but it maybe noted that the pin 44 is'adapted to be sheared off by a downward pull on the hanger, which is of relatively stiff material.

Inthe construction shown in Fig. 7 a clamping member is formed similar to the one shown in Fig. 6, save that it is provided with projections 5| on which a hanger 52 (shown in dotted lines) may be supported. Flanges 53 may be employed to prevent the hanger from sliding off while the concrete is being poured. In stripping the mold a downward pull on the hanger is designed to shear the projections 5| from the member 50,

and preferably also from flanges 53, if these are.

too large to be drawn through the concrete.

In Fig. 8, a clamp 55 is illustrated having a web 56 at the top of the clamp and serving as a bearing for wedge 51. This form involves many of the advantages of the forms previously described, and is especially simple to make. It may be employed wherever the mold allows room to drive the wedge home.

In Figs. 9 and 10 a modification of the forms described is shown as including a clamping member 60 having slotted side portions 6| joined by bottom web 62. A hanger 63 extends through the web 62 and is threaded into collar 64. Its upper end is pointed and abuts against the bottom of beam flanges 24, thus securing the clamp to the beam, after the parts are assembled and the hanger is secured up into the collar.

The form shown in Fig. 11 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 5, save that clamping member 65 is formed solid and hanger member 66 is threaded directly into the lower portion of the member 65.

It will be understood from the foregoing that there is provided a novel beam clamp which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and in which a minimum number of parts remain embedded in the concrete. Moreover, the construction is readily assembled and disassembled, and is sturdy and secure in operation. Moreover, the pull of the load on the device is advantageously positioned. A minimum number of the devices are required for a given ceiling, and one size of device cooperates with a number of different sizes of I-beams. The device requires no skill to employ and results in an automatic proper disposition of the mold in a short assembly time.

A particular advantage of the present construction resides in the simple device, a portion of which may be left in the concrete, while another portion is removed or severed from the first portion when the mold is stripped after the concrete has hardened.

The terms and expressions employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms of excluding equivalents of features or parts of them as fall within the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a device for supporting concrete molds and the like upon steel I-beams and the like, a member having a groove adapted to receive an edge of a generally horizontal flange of an I- beam, wedge means adapted to lie on said flange and being curved lengthwise thereof, said member being adapted to receive the Wedge means,

a slot formed in said member, and a depending hanger having an end adapted to extend through said slot, said slot being constructed and arranged to enable the member to be swung into engagement with the flange of the I-beam while the hanger depends in a substantially vertical position.

2. As an article of manufacture, a clamping member formed as an integral metal unit and including opposite spaced portions joined by a web, said portions having slots formed therein for receiving an edge of an I-beam or the like, and said web having a slot for receiving an end of a depending hanger, the slots in said portions of the clamping member and the slot in the web being so proportioned so as to enable the clamping member to be swung in a plane perpendicular to the length of the I-beam for engaging the latter while the hanger depends in a generally vertical direction.

3. In a device for supporting a concrete mold or the like upon the flange of an I-beam or the like, a clamping member formed as an integral metal unit and including opposite spaced portions joined by a web, said portions having slots formed therein for receiving an edge of a flange of the I-beam, a wedge member adapted to cooperate with the clamping member and extending generally lengthwise of the I-beam, said wedge member being curved along its length and said clamping member having recesses formed for receiving the wedge, a hanger, and a slot formed in the web of the clamping member for receiving the upper end of said hanger, saidslot being constructed and arranged to enable the clamping member to be swung in a plane perpendicular to the length of the I-beam into engagement with the flange of the I-beam, whereby said clamping member may be swung into operative position while the hanger depends in a generally vertical direction.

4. In a construction of the character described, for supporting a mold or the like on the flange of an I-beam or the like, a clamping member having a slot adapted to receive the edge of an I-beam, a hanger member comprising a rod threaded at its upper end, and a nut threaded to receive the threaded portion of the rod, said clamping member being adapted to support said nut and to pivot in a plane perpendicular to the length of the I-beam while said rod lies substantially vertical.

5. In a device of the character described for supporting a mold or the like upon the flange of an I-beam or the like, a member having a recess adapted to be swung over and thus receive an edge of an I-beam, an opening formed in said member for receiving a wedge, a wedge adapted to extend lengthwise of the I-beam and to seat snugly in said opening, said wedge being constructed and arranged to prevent tipping of the member about the I-beam when the wedge is assembled with the member, and a depending hanger pivotally connected with said member, whereby said member may be swung into engagement with the flange of the I-beam while the hanger depends in a substantially vertical position.

JOHN PINAUD. GEORGE QUICK. 

